Intruder Leaves Maggots In Home

Eeeuuuwww!

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A Lee County woman wants to find out who broke into her house and dumped thousands of maggots on her floor while she and her family slept.

Mary Jo Uhler says she and her family spent more than a day cleaning their home, and they were still finding maggots.

Uhler's daughter Kristina Smith said someone came through the sliding glass door early Sunday morning and dumped them.

Smith said the family had to throw out a sofa and chair, along with other personal possessions that were ruined. The damage could end up costing the family hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

The sheriff's office is investigating the break-in, but no arrests have been made.

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Donkey Becomes Witness in Dallas Dispute

The first witness in a lawsuit Wednesday between two neighbors was a real ass. Buddy the donkey walked to the bench and stared at the jury, the picture of a gentle, well-mannered creature and not the loud, aggressive animal he had been accused of being.

The donkey was at the center of a dispute between oilman John Cantrell and attorney Gregory Shamoun that began after Cantrell complained about a storage shed Shamoun was building in his backyard in Dallas.

He said Shamoun retaliated by bringing Buddy from his ranch in Midlothian and putting him in the backyard.

Cantrell complained of donkey noise and manure piles.

"They bray a lot any time day or night. You never know when they're going to cut loose," he testified.

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Art by Erika Yamashiro

"moonlight" (19.0cm×33.2cm oil on canvas 11.2006)

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New Pet Food Worry: Contaminated Rice

An industrial chemical that led to the nationwide recall of more than 100 brands of cat and dog food has turned up in a second pet food ingredient imported from China.

The discovery expands the month-long cascade of recalls to include more brands and varieties of pet foods and treats tainted by the chemical.

The chemical, melamine, is believed to have contaminated rice protein concentrate used to make a variety of Natural Balance Pet Foods products for both dogs and cats, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

The FDA has there is no evidence so far to suggest any of the rice protein went to companies that make human food, said Michael Rogers, director of the agency's division of field investigations. But the FDA, which is continuing to update its list of pet food recalls, has not yet accounted for all of the imported ingredients.

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Leaping sturgeon injures Florida woman

A sturgeon jumped out of a river and hit a woman riding a personal watercraft causing severe injuries, the latest accident involving the flying fish along the Suwannee River, officials said.

Sharon Touchton, 50, of St. Petersburg, suffered a ruptured spleen and had three fingers reattached by surgeons, but she lost her left pinkie finger and a tooth.

Problems with sturgeon — which are large, prehistoric-looking fish with hard plates along their backs that can grow up to 8 feet long and up to 200 pounds — came to a head last year when 10 people were injured in accidents caused by the jumping fish.

Gulf sturgeon migrate into the Suwannee River in March to spawn, and remain in the river until the fall. Researchers are not sure why the large fish jump.

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Conservation officer: Wolf chased cars

When conservation officer Steve Peterson got a call that a timber wolf was chasing vehicles on a country road near Brimson, he thought it was prank or a misidentified German shepherd. But then he saw it firsthand.

"I couldn't believe it. It was like a dog chasing cars," Peterson said. "It looked like a big, healthy male wolf. No mange."

Responding to the call last Friday, Peterson saw the animal hide in the ditch as a pickup approached and then come bounding out to chase it.

The wolf did the same when Peterson drove to that spot, where he stopped his vehicle.

"He hung around for a minute or 90 seconds and then walked off. I haven't heard any more reports since then," Peterson said.

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WWF urges Russia to set up reserve for endangered Amur leopard

The green group WWF Wednesday urged the Russian government to set up a national reserve in the country's far-east to protect the endangered Amur leopard.

According to the last survey carried out by Russian and American scientists, between 24 and 35 leopards remain in their natural habitat spread over three reserves located near the Chinese border and along the Amur river.

"In China there are only a handful of Amur leopards left," he said. "All the body parts of the female are used for making medicines -- even whiskers and teeth."

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